24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2009

And a happy June to everyone!

Summer approaches and so does our 24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2009, the
second annual event I started with David Perez. It was born out of my half-assed December 2007 attempt to read poetry for 24 hours straight. I made it about 18-hours with a huge nap in the middle. Luckily, it lead us to a new idea.

Ten months later, David and I decided to replicate the event, but knew we had to open the mic to anyone that wanted to perform.

24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2008 was a hit last September. MACLA, also the home of the San Jose Poetry Slam, was the perfect venue for such an endeavor. We had nearly 200 people stop by, and had a parliament of 30+ people most of the time. To take a nap at 3:30am, and to wake up an hour later to see that the crowd laying around you has grown is a sight to behold. It was indescribable fun to have such confirmation for the Slumberfest.

San Jose’s just the right setting for an event of this kind. The people want it–nay–need it and MACLA’s more than happy to pursue just about anything to promote art in all of its forms. It has been a purveyor of art for sometime now, and is the true home of spoken word in Silicon Valley. There is none higher.

Last year David mentioned his interest in bringing more international performers to the Slumberfest, and being a low-cost event, we certainly could not fly people out to attend. It’s quite literally a slumber party with a stage, a few mics, a pile of blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, food (all sorts!) and a couch or two.

But dammit! We live in Silicon Valley! We’re poets and artists who are also tech nerds. There must be something we can do to bring the world to MACLA.

SOLUTION: Skype + projector + wall + camera = INTERNATIONAL SLUMBERFEST!

If you think, “Man, this sounds like fun, but I can’t fly to San Jose, California (although you really should), but I do have a Skype account and I do have a webcam and I do have internet access and I do have poetry or music that is or isn’t mine and I do like the idea of reading it aloud…” Then you’re all set to be a part of the show! Join us from your very own country, province, state, cafe, school, bar
kitchen or bedroom.

We are signing people up for Skyping or those interested in just showing up to perform. Anyone outside of the United States will get priority with time slots. If you’re interested, look up the event listing on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/kpuwej, or comment here with the the general time slot you’re interested in.

Slumberfest 2009 runs from June 5 to June 6 – 6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday.

Slots may be less than 15 minutes, but not more than 15 minutes, depending on demand. The later the better. It will be easier to get a slot at 6am then at 11pm. Pay close attention to the difference in time between your time zone and Pacific Time.
http://www.timeanddate.com/

Examples:

“I am Joe Davis. I am a poet. I live in San Jose. I will attend in person. I would like to sign up between 6pm and 7:30pm. My email address is XGHKIG at HJJIY dot COM.”

“Hey, Slumberers! I am Suzy. I live in the UK. I am a musician. I would like to play my songs over Skype sometime between 3am and 5am Pacific Time. You can reach me at SUZY at SUZY dot COM.”

David and I will be working everything out for the rest of this week, and you will get a response with your time slot and explicit Skype instructions by Thursday, June 4 or the morning of June 5.

There will be lots of laying about, aside from David and I hosting and filling in empty slots on the mic. It is recommended that if you bring food or beverage, please bring enough to share.

NO BOOZE OR DRUGS. This is a clean event. We’d love for you to get high on life instead.

24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2009

MACLA

510 South First Street, Between William and Reed in Dowtown San Jose

Free street parking after 6pm.
Meters in the daytime.

Suggested donation: 5 to 7 bucks.

Original time slotted was 7pm to 7pm, but scheduling forced us an hour ahead. It is 6pm to 6pm.

Various prizes and games for those who volunteer and stay the whole 24-hours.

Get plenty of rest beforehand and be sure to bring plenty of water if you intend to stay up.

We will attempt to webcast the event throughout, but due to issues in the past, we can make no promises. Check back to this blog throughout
the week for more info.
———
Word to the nerd.

Originally published at Mike McGee Town. You can comment here or there.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 2 June, 2009 at 6:00 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged 2009, 24-hour, 24-Hour Open Mic, all night, barefoot coffee roasters, Bay Area, downtown, event, events, festival, ideas, live bands, live music, live performance, live poetry, macla, marathon, mike mcgee, Music, open mic, pillows, Podcast, poet, poetry, san josé poetry slam, San-Jose-California, sleep over, sleeping bags, sleepover, slumber fest, slumber party, slumberfest, snacks, spoken, spoken word, summer, sweetness, writing. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

September 6 and 7 – Noon to noon

End of Summer Slumber Fest ’08 is coming your way…tomorrow!

510 S. First Street, Downtown San José, 95113 Between William and Reed. Metered parking. Watch the signs and where you park. Keep track of when you may have to move your vehicle.

David Perez and I will be getting to MACLA in the morning, probably well before 11:00am on Saturday, September 6. We will be setting up snack table, chairs, and the stage area. I will also be setting up a 24-hour webcast once again on BlogTV.com

This is all ages until 11:00pm. From 11:00pm to 6:00am, we ask that you try to become 18+ ASAP, or have a guardian with you who will claim responsibility for you the WHOLE TIME. Make sure you introduce that guardian to David AND myself.

I will post the BlogTV widget to watch the ‘cast right here. You may have to click on it to see it once it’s up.

PRIZES: No one is expected to stay for 24 hours, but David and I will have special prizes for those who do.

SOBRIETY: Be smart! No drugs or booze. Assholes will be asked to leave. Except for the acceptable/legal: e.g., cigarettes and coffee. No smoking inside MACLA. There will be a BUTT CAN for your cigarettes. USE IT.

VOLUNTEERS: If you are free and intend to attend this event to help keep things running, please come by any time before noon on Saturday. We will do our best to keep you fed and watered. We will also label you a volunteer so others may turn to you for guidance and direction, in life and thereafter.

PERFORMERS: If you intend to perform, please come by to sign up in person. There is no guarantee that you’ll get the slot you want, but if you are forced to wait for an extended period of time, be sure to let us know you are leaving and when you will return.

SIGN UP: You may call Mike or Dave for a time slot, if you have our numbers. You must arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your slot time.

PRESENCE: We ask that you arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your time slot.

Everyone gets a 15 minute slot. No one may sign up for more than one slot an hour, unless no one has signed up for the slot after you by the time you begin. (You might have the opportunity to play through the next slot.)

BEHAVIOR: Please bring a good attitude and a fun vibe. Nobody wants to feel awkward or threatened by any assholes or losers. If you aren’t feeling fun or vibe-y, there will be enough of us to surround you with fun vibes.

GAMES: There will be many board and card games available for play throughout the event. Respect should certainly be given to the performer(s) on stage at all times though.

See you there.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 5 September, 2008 at 2:52 PM, filed under Podcast and tagged 24-hour, games, macla, slumber fest, summer, sweetness. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

September 6 and 7 – Noon to noon

End of Summer Slumber Fest ‘08 is coming your way…tomorrow!